media and public sphere

Transcripts - media and public sphere

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The Flow of Political Interests and Influence in Democratic Landscape (Achmad Supardi) Interest Groups ------------------Spheres of Influence-----------Target of Influence Media Pressure Groups Structural Political (NGOs, Associations) Representatives (Parliament) Lobby groups Media Citizens Political Party Political Party PoliticiansFeedback (Input Feedback and Vote) (Input)

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Public SphereGerman sociologist, Jürgen Habermas  “By thepublic sphere we mean first of all a realm of oursocial life in which something approaching publicopinion can be formed.... Citizens behave as a publicbody when they confer in an unrestricted fashion –that is, within the guarantee of freedom of assemblyand association and the freedom to express andpublish their opinions” (cited in Pusey 1978: 89)

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Public SphereGripsund  “a set of institutions representing a sort of ‘buffer zone’ between thestate/king and private sphere, to protect them from arbitrary decisions thatinterfered with what they considered private activities in an irrational way” (1992:89).  The press in particular ‘was to function as an instrument or a forum for the enlightened, rational, critical, and unbiased public discussion of what the common interests were in matters of culture and politics’ (ibid.)Josef Ernst  “distinctive discursive space” within which “individuals arecombined so as to be able to assume the role of a politically powerful force”(1988: 47).McNair (2003: 21) “the bourgeois realm of politics” (Ernst 1988: 47) which hasgradually expanded from its elitist beginnings to include absolute majoritiesof the population in modern democratic societies.

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Public SphereMcNair  The public sphere, as can be seen, comprises in essence thecommunicative institutions of a society, through which facts andopinions circulate and by means of which a common stock ofknowledge is built up as the basis for collective political action (2003:20-21)Hence, the mass media, which since the eighteenth century haveevolved into the main source and focus of a society’s sharedexperience played a significant role in the public sphere (McNair:2003: 20-21).

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Public OpinionMedia became the most influential actor in influencing publicopinion.According to Habermas, the first use of the term ‘publicopinion’ was documented in 1781, referring to “the criticalreflection of a [bourgeois] public competent to form its ownjudgments” (Pusey 1978: 90).

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Generally, the media is the most influential actor indetermining public opinion. Other actors are pressuregroupsPressure groupsPressure groups “have been credited with havingdeveloped new styles of political activism, the so-called ‘new politics’ – popular protests, marches, sit-ins, direct action, and so on – that has proved to beattractive to a growing body of young peopledisillusioned by ‘conventional’ politics”*. Conventional politics: politics through parliament by means of politicalparties

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Group InterestsPressure groups and political parties“Pressure groups and political parties have much incommon. They are the two main bodies throughwhich the public’s views and interests are channelledto government. As such, both of them carry outrepresentation, facilitate political participation andcontribute to the policy process. However, on theface of it, groups and parties are very differentbeasts”(http://www.palgrave.com/PDFs/0230201733.pdf).

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Group InterestsA pressure group is an organized group of people which aims to influencethe policies or actions of government.Pressure groups are defined by three key features:1) They seek to exert influence from outside, rather than to win orexercise government power. Pressure groups do not make policydecisions, but rather try to influence those who do (the policy-makers). Inthat sense, they are ‘external’ to government.2) They typically have a narrow issue focus. In some cases, they may focuson a single issue (for instance opposing a planned road development).3) Their members are united by either a shared belief in a particularcause or a common set of interests. People with different ideological andparty preferences may thus work happily together as members of thesame pressure group. (http://www.palgrave.com/PDFs/0230201733.pdf).

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Group InterestsExamples of Pressure Groups:Indonesia1.2.3.4.5.6.International1.2.3.4.

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The Flow of Political Interests and Influence in Democratic Landscape (Achmad Supardi) Interest Groups ------------------Spheres of Influence-----------Target of Influence Media Pressure Groups Structural Political (NGOs, Associations) Representatives (Parliament) Lobby groups Media Citizens Political Party Political Party PoliticiansFeedback (Input Feedback and Vote) (Input)

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Media and Public DiscourseThe scheme above indicated that media hold two positions:1) Media as one of interest groups2) Media as public sphere of discourseMedia as ‘disseminators’ as well as ‘directors’** Media Ideology  determines the choices of topics and editorial policy  political stance** Media Ownership  the owner’s interest and future goals Public Discourse  Anti-Trust Regulations

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Print mediaRadioTVOnline media

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What trigger the emergence of individualbroadcasters?What are the impacts of individualbroadcasters for political campaign?What are the effects of individualbroadcasters for government/policy-makers, media, industry, and interest groups?